Geomorphic and stratigraphic signals of postglacial meltwater pulses on continental shelves

Early cementation and accommodation space dictate the evolution of an overstepping barrier system during the Holocene

“…Without the occurrence of early cementation, the barrier deposits would probably be eroded by waves. Preservation of barriers related to early cementation was also found in several sites in eastern South Africa -the continental shelf offshore Durban (Green et al, , 2014 and the KwaZulu-Natal shelf (Salzmann et al, 2013). In these case studies, the barrier formation was associated with a standstill in sea-level rise, cementation was found to occur over a short period as the barriers were forming, and overstepping was related to a rapid increase in the sea-level rate associated with meltwater pulses Salzmann et al, 2013).…”

“…High sea-level rise rates favor barrier preservation (i.e. 60 mm y −1 , Storms et al, 2008) and deeper preserved systems (60 m and 100 m of water depth, South Africa, Salzmann et al, 2013;Green et al, 2014;80 m/90 m South Adriatic, Storms et al, 2008), have been associated with meltwater pulses of the early phase of the last sea-level rise. Zecchin et al (2015) have also recently shown a drowned delta at shallow depth which could be associated with a rapid increase of the sea level rise rate at shallow depth.…”

Episodic, rapid sea-level rises on the central Mediterranean shelves after the Last Glacial Maximum: A review

“…100 and/or 60 m water depth, correlatable to phases just preceding MWPs 1A and 1B, were documented in Florida and Gulf of Mexico (Gardner et al, 2007), on the Indian shelf (Wagle et al, 1994), the Great Barrier Reef and the South Island, New Zealand (Carter et al, 1986), the Red Sea (Bailey et al, 2007), the Japan Sea (Korotkii, 1985), and the South Africa shelf (Salzmann et al, 2013;Green et al, 2014).…”

Seismic architecture, stratigraphy and evolution of a subtropical marine embayment: Maputo Bay, Mozambique

“…Deposits similar in both seismic configuration and morphology are found in a variety of depths on the South African continental shelf and have been identified as aeolianite remnants that have escaped complete erosion by virtue of their cementation (e.g. Martin and Flemming, 1986;Green et al, 2013aGreen et al, , 2014.…”